Metamora Martial Arts Newswire Archives

January 30, 2008

I will likely repost this once Feburary comes up, but I wanted to throw this link out there for those of you on the demo team. There have been some changes, so make sure you have read the updated version.

Also, any interest in me writing some kind of a blog on tools inside the forums? I realized that there is a ton of available things and wasn't sure if everybody was aware they were there or knows how to use them.

January 27, 2008

A reminder to everybody that there is no class tomorrow afternoon because Mr. Chianakas is out of town. Somehow I avoided that memo and didn't know until after an e-mail exchange so if anybody was like me and didn't know, class is canceled tomorrow.

White belts: Bring your best effort and attitude with you starting Wednesday. If you have a mouthguard, shin/instep/forearm pads or a set of sparring gear, bring them. If you don't, it's second semester, and you should get them ASAP. Go to the martial arts merch sites through our "Shop" link on the left.

I guess that's it. January is slow.

January 25, 2008

Kind of a slow week. Forums haven't seen much activity lately, but Mr. Chianakas has decided upon the music for our demo in February. No mention of whether or a not a group is going down to Springfield to compete in the Auvenshines' tournament. If you're curious, check the tournaments section.

I'm also back in a programming class this semester, using JavaScript, so in all likelihood you'll see various things here and there that I'm learning in that class. One of the main goals is for people to be able to fill out a form and send it to me with profile information, since only about 5 people have given me information. But the point of JavaScript, as I'm told, is interactivity, which is what I've wanted this website to be about all along. No, you won't see any changes in design or layout; that's staying the same. It'll be little things.

January 20, 2008

Just wanted to do a short update today. I scanned all of the group photos I have possession of, including six group photos of the high school program, three MGS pics, and 1 Germantown photo. Looking back in our brief history, only three people remain from the original photo taken in 2002, and all three of them are now black belts - Deshi Adam, Joshu Amanda, and Joshu Justin.

I'm feeling lazy and I want to go play with our new puppy, but check the forums to give your input for future Black Belt Magazine articles because Mr. Chianakas would like our ideas, and I posted UFC 80 results this morning. Also, because time is a factor, I wanted to push my American Gladiators "destiny" thread again.

January 17, 2008

Hopefully nobody showed up to class yesterday. Class is cancelled at MTHS for yesterday and today due to finals. However, there is a black belt class at 4:30 at MTHS, and Germantown is still on for tonight.

Whenever I get some free time, I like to make sure the website is running at its full capacity. So I've upgraded the board, points, and Arcade to their latest versions. I've also installed a few games but I didn't try them first, so let me know how they work. If payouts for points don't work right (as in, too much or too little), let me know. I don't want to play every single game and adjust points accordingly.

I'm still debating adding a mod that will let you make a custom profile page, similar to that of MySpace or Facebook. I'll check it out.

Please continue to check out the links below, in addition to these...

Extra shirts/sweatshirts
Board Upgrades - Let me know of any problems you might have there.
Metamora/Germantown Adult Schedule - updated with some schedule changes.
Info on class during finals
Joshu Adam needs your help

Good luck to high schoolers on their finals and we'll see you next week.

January 12, 2008

What's up, everybody?

This update was mainly inspired by tournaments! First of all, gear up for a tournament in just under a month in Springfield. The Auvenshines are putting this one on, the same one held in Auburn last January. More info can be found in the Upcoming Tournaments section, but I just wanted to post something for you to start thinking about it. I really want to go.

And this week started the advertising campaign for our open tournament on April 5. A big thank you to the businesses who let me post flyers yesterday afternoon. I need to get out again next week to hit more. And this brings me to several links on the forums...

ATTN: Parents / Businesses
Black Belt Magazine Industry Awards
Mr. C's new article in Black Belt Mag
Auvenshine Competitors - post here
Your ideas for music for Feburary's demo
ATTN: MGS Adults
2008 Program Goals
Anybody watch Fight Quest on Discovery?

January 10, 2008

It's still up for a limited time! Black Belt Magazine Industry Awards are still up for vote, so please click here. We are up for awards under Best Children's Program and Best Humanitarian Act for the Relay For Life Breakathon. Please vote soon! The Village of Metamora has picked up on this in an e-mail sent out recently trying to give us support since we facing very tough competition against nationally known schools in this competition. Please, please vote!

January 9, 2008

Hopefully this site is viewable to everybody now and everything looks right. If not, be specific when you start a thread in the Support & FAQ forum.

Some people are still confused about the schedule. I'll readily admit it's different getting used to practice on different days because Tues/Thurs classes have been a constant since I joined in 2003. If you're confused or unsure, head to the Schedule section and print yourself out a copy.

Our open tournament is just under three months away, and today many packages were sent out containing info on it. So if anybody reading this site is from a school we sent a letter to (of even if you're not), feel free to make an account at the forums, network with us, and say hello.

I've gotten about halfway through the first highlight video that will appear on the 2008 DVD. I'm looking to finish it by the weekend so I can make another video for a friend. I've posted a teaser on YouTube, and the forums have a topic open for discussion on the 08 DVD.

January 2, 2008

It's hard to believe that karate starts up again tomorrow night in the weight room at 3:30, followed by advanced class at 4:30 and Germantown at 6:30. The rest of you start up next week.

Hopefully most of you are liking the new layout of the site. None of the content has changed, but I did a lot of work over break so it is easier to update in the future. I designed it on 1280x800 resolution, but thought it would work on 1024x768 fine too. I checked it on my mom's computer and the copyright line is off, so I might play around with that in the next few days or weeks so it displays right.

I've started sorting through all kinds of clips that I imported last week to my computer. A first semester highlight video will be complete by the time I go back to school in about 3 weeks. I will not be putting the entire video on YouTube, but will probably post a 30-second preview of it or something. I'll keep everybody posted.

January 1, 2008

It's the new year, and I've decided to start off the year with a brand new website design. I've done another one so quick because the last version (the one I was pumped to show off) bucked a lot of web standards and I wanted to get one more up to date with what I've learned in the past few months about site design and maintenance. I promise that there won't be another major change until at least summer.

2007 was a great fifth year for us, including weapons classes over the summer, a few tournaments (including the most talked-about trip to Orlando!), demos and events/seminars, Relay for Life, and our first-ever karate camp.

But 2008 is primed to be our biggest year yet! As Metamora Martial Arts turns six, we will be promoting our first-ever open tournament on April 5 and a seminar with Master Leif Becker the night before on April 4! We've got our first demo in many months in February, and will more than likely be visiting several tournaments throughout the year (especially before April). Mr. C mentioned on the forums how he is toying around with a big anniversary party and how he intends to restart our SWAT team (instructor training), weapons class, and a weekly grappling class come June when he completes his master's degree. Plus, Joshu Amanda looks to attain her second-degree rank. I'm looking forward to Relay for Life in June again.

Of course, these are only the things we know of right now! Think of the possible happenings to come this year. I'm looking forward to the many variables going into 2008.

Here are some forum updates:

Sponsorship opportunity still welcomed
Metamora Martial Arts up for Black Belt Industry Awards
2008 Program Goals
Grade schools - punch card option!
2008 Highlight DVD months away from release, being worked on

Thanks for everybody's continued support of the program and let's have a great 2008!